LIMA — Mother Nature struck again last week. For the second week in a row, Limaland had to cancel their races. After some better weather this week, racing looks good to go tonight for Modified Mayhem XVII – Presented by: K&N Filters at Limaland Motorsports Park. The pit gate opens at 4:30 p.m. and racing starts at 7:30 p.m.
The Bud Thunderstocks will be competing and the winner of the K&N Filter Modifieds will take home a $1,000 prize.
A new level of competition will be on hand at Limaland. The Modified Lite STARS are making their first appearance at Limaland Motorsports Park tonight.
The Modified Lite STARS International Championship Tour racing series is a nonprofit organization established to give motorcycle-powered modified lite race cars, in the Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia area a chance to compete.
Bill Bauer, the President of Racing Operations, is teaming up with our regional racing area so his drivers can come to Limaland.
“It’s our first time coming to Limaland and we’re excited about it,” Bauer said. “It’s a new marketing area and I really like their relationship with UNOH. We want to promote what we do and take advantage of that.”
In 2016, the Modified Lite STARS had over 350 drivers competing in 9 national races and 14 regional races. Bauer hopes to have anywhere between 20 and 30 of his drivers competing tonight.
“The challenge this year has been the weather so far,” Bauer said. “A lot of our guys’ home tracks have had many rainouts. Those guys obviously want to compete for championship points at their home tracks. Hopefully we have a lot of them come. We’ll do our best and see what happens.”
Bauer has been in contact with several of his drivers and they are excited to come to Limaland for the first time.
“The biggest thing for them is it’s a new area and a really nice facility,” Bauer said. “It’s my responsibility to promote and make sure the track meets car standards. I’m sure we’ll have a good car count come to Limaland (because of the nice track).”
Even though the Modified Lite STARS are similar to the UMP Modifieds that we’re used to seeing, there are several key differences in the cars.
“Our’s is a 5/8 scale powered by a motorcycle engine,” Bauer said. “It’s a stocked motor program. We have a good tire program and we try to reduce the cost of a car. That’s our answer to the crate motor program. We have to put the control measures in. We’ve been getting a lot of youngsters in. They use it as a stepping stone.”
For complete results of Modified Mayhem XVII, pick up a Sunday edition of The Lima News.
